1279shp

Begs Q+A ... Will NZRO realistically get flights??

Will enough pax travelling the 'tourism ring-road' be willing to bypass Auckland??

Like the quote "Quite simply, Waikato residents are not travelling like they used to, or are choosing to travel through Auckland Airport."

NZHN has always been promoted as the international airport for pretty much everyone East - BOP (incl RO)/East Coast/Hawkes Bay!

Nice comment for Waikato locals who helped pay for airport upgrades etc!!

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Air New Zealand will suspend services between Hamilton and Sydney and the Gold Coast from the end of March to late October next year.

The airline said the period - from March 29 to October 24 - was traditionally a lower demand period.

Glen Sowry, Air NZ's general manager of Tasman Pacific airline, said the move was a result of weak demand and an oversupply of trans-Tasman capacity from Auckland.

"This decision is part of Air New Zealand's ongoing review of its network to ensure we operate a sustainable business through the current global economic downturn which is seeing airlines suffer, and in many cases fail, the world over," he said today.

"We certainly regret having to suspend the three times per week service to Sydney and twice a week service to the Gold Coast. However, with poor load factors, equally poor yield and high fuel costs, we cannot afford to fly routes that lose money in the current economic environment.

"Quite simply, Waikato residents are not travelling like they used to, or are choosing to travel through Auckland Airport. The Hamilton-Sydney route, for example, has operated less than half full over the past six months.

That's the equivalent of operating more than 60 empty A320 flights on the Sydney route alone.

Efforts to stimulate demand with significantly lower average fares compared to the rest of the Tasman network have not had the required effect, Mr Sowry said.

"In addition, the glut in trans-Tasman capacity from Auckland is cannibalising the Hamilton services as many of those travelling to Australia from the Waikato appear to be flying from Auckland."

Hamilton would still have an Australian connection, with retention of the twice weekly flights to and from Brisbane.

"While this will provide access to Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, it is important to note that unless the services are economically viable they will also come under review in the future. I urge Waikato residents to make the most of these direct services to help ensure their long term future."

Mr Sowry says trans-Tasman services to and from Hamilton between now and March next year remain unchanged.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the suspension of the services would not lead to any job cuts.

waren9

So, the closing of the HLZ crew base for Flight Attendants doesnt count then?

terronnd

Maybe Air NZ should have considered some advertising? often that helps to raise awareness of your product.

There now seems no doubt that since Zeal 320 was created the regional services were set up to fail.

slackie

Yeh...you just need to look at the trans-Tasman pricing for tickets ex-AA and ex-HN to see that AirNZ aren't keen to keep HN on.

KiwiAir did a great job of creating a market for itself, and AirNZ and its subsidiaries have done an even better job at destroying it!

mattyj

So does that mean Eagle and AirNSN are going to double the number of HN-AA flights daily?

tiger-palm

Golden opportunity for Tiger to enter the TT market....MEL- HLZ for starters. The Hamilton Airport Authority are absoluetly desperate to keep Intl flights and will offer very competitive rates !!!!

7378FE

Both Hamilton & Palmy North sound ripe for E-Jet ops to BNE, SYD & MEL

1279shp

So true, primetime isn't primetime without that annoying voiceover or that ugly buzzy bee!

The gap will be filled, just start naming names I reckons! They'd be fools not to get in there! Gotta be over 500,000 people in the 'advertising area' that, given reminders/cheap fares, will happily pay for parking at HIA!!!!!

27/09

Yeah, While screwing their existing customers.

Isn't the car parking costs at HIAL about the dearest in the country?

tiger-palm

27/09

That's business - if you've spent $15M tarting up your airport - you'd want a return.

waren9

Remember Guys,

AirNZ thought long and hard before it pulled out of PMR. The Tasman is its bread and butter and cannot afford to get it wrong.

The withdrawal from HLZ is seasonal (next winter) only. I'm sure they have thought long and hard about this one too.

The bean counters at Air NZ will have worked long and hard to weigh up whether or not stopping these spoiler flights in to these poor performing markets are worth the risk of a competitor having a go.

I seem to remember PMR airport coming to a well publicised agreement with Ozjet after AirNZ pulled out. Ozjet couldnt manage one service.

Freedom had been going to PMR and HLZ for several years and had done a lot of advertising over that time, and in fact it was a matter of town pride that jet services were available. Local councils and business leaders were all given the "use it or lose it" message as well.

It will be a very cheap operation indeed that can make money in summer, let alone all year round from these places.

terronnd

I'm sure everybody is well aware of what the word 'suspends' really means, especially Tiger, Jetstar and Pac Blue.

You can't stop servicing a route and expect to pick it up again and make a profit. It takes time to raise awareness and build up load factor etc etc.

Two flights a week is not sustainable when you think about the services required, like Customs, MAF etc.

It will ALL be over in 2010.

27/09

Perhaps a real business person might not have spent $15 mil to start with and lived within their means.